Friday, July 2, 2010

Turn the needle on myself...

I'm becoming a halfway house for wayward kittens. It's summer, so there are a bunch of kittens out there. They keep getting my name and number somehow.

So, I have litter number 3 of the summer (not too bad considering), one of which I lost to an unknown cause. The other 2 are thriving. On Wednesday night, a tiny little calico with goopy eyes (read: super contagious upper respiratory tract infection - probably herpesvirus or Calicivirus) was brought in. She was absolutely tiny - maybe 1/2 pound at the most. Her head was too big for her body. I really felt that I couldn't take another kitten (she had infectious disease - mainly), and no one else wanted to foster her. I made the decision to euthanize her.

When euthanizing kittens this tiny, I always anesthetize them first. Often they are so small, they require a cardiac injection, and this MUST be done under complete anesthesia, so that they feel nothing.

I set up the anesthesia machine, wrapped her in a comfy blanket, and put her under the big mask. I left to attend other stuff, giving her a full 20 minutes to go to sleep. When I came back, heavy-hearted, holding the pink solution in my hand, I felt sick. It's part of the job, I know that, but I hate it. I lifted the mask. Lo and behold, kitten was purring and looking around, completely alert. I glanced at the anesthesia mean and realized I had forgotten to turn on the oxygen - the CARRIER gas for the anesthesia. Sighing, I realized it was too late. It took all of my strength to put her in the mask the first time. I couldn't do it a second.

She is now residing in my bathtub, getting her antibiotic eye drops (the goo has cleared up), and eating her body weight in kitten food.

In my defense, when my husband first saw her, he said that if he'd been in my position, he would have had to turn the needle on himself rather than harm the tiny, bobble-headed kitten.

It's now taking me an hour before I can get into bed after work to care for the menagerie: I have to walk the dog, feed/water the dog, water the flowers, water the vegetables, check on the bird's food and water, stimulate/bathe the small kittens, feed the small kittens, check food on the housecats, check food on the back porch cat, start kitten laundry (twice a day!), and now put eyedrops in and feed the small, pathetic calico. *Sigh* I have a problem.

Elizabeth: All of my cats are ones I have gotten from vets or as a vet...so I understand.

Kristen: I wonder if forgetting to turn on the O2 was a subliminal, deliberate mistake?

Mary: They are definitely fosters and only fosters. I place all the kittens I raise. If I can't find homes for them, they go to a local, private cat rescue. It's run by a wonderful woman. She keeps ALL of the cats until they find homes. No question. She doesn't have space or time for bottle babies, so I get them weaned, dewormed, etc, and she takes it from there. My last 2 litters have gone to her.

aww happy anniversary - we just celebrated 20 years and my poor husband (who grew up with NO animals) has gotten very used to me having your kind of nights ...

you rock for taking that on though :)

I have always had the tough cats as permanent residents here but we were down to 2 this summer - so every freaking adorable handicapped kitten is finding us - deaf, 3 legged, neurological .. it's crazy.. MUST find them homes .. must find most of them homes.. must find some of them homes??

DISCLAIMER

Any similarity between my stories and any person or animal, living or dead, is strictly a coincidence. Names, breeds, sexes, and details of the stories have been changed to protect the guilty and innocent alike.

About Me

I am an emergency veterinarian in North Carolina. Despite the crazy people I deal with, the awful cases of injured and sick animals, and the overall stress of emergency work, I absolutely love what I do. Happily married since I was 20, I have a wonderful husband who has a PhD in Mathematics, and a daughter around whom our world currently revolves. We also have a zoo living in our house that can be alternately wonderful and maddening. There are cats, parrots, and a dog who is very low on the totem pole. Our days are never dull and we are learning to balance the demands of work and family.
If you'd like to contact me: homelessparrot@gmail.com

Human gross-ness

Followers

Medical terminology

Lactate - a salt/ester of lactic acid that is produced as energy for a cell when oxygen levels are low. In critically ill animals, elevated lactate can be an indicator of inadequate blood flow to organs (perfusion), decreased delivery of oxygen, and/or decreased oxygen uptake. Values > 6-7 are usually considered to be poor prognostic indicators for survival.

GI sloughing: when the cells lining the GI tract die (can be secondary to MANY things, including heatstroke) with resulting bloody diarrhea, bacterial translocation into the bloodstream and sepsis

TTJ: transfer to jesus: code for when an animal needs to be euthanized or die

DIC: disseminated intravascular coagulation: a very, very bad thing - when the hemostatic system gets out of whack, and clots start forming in the blood vessels until all clotting factors are wasted. once those are gone, internal hemorrhage ensues, followed by death, usually. also known as "death is coming"

Pleural effusion - fluid contained in the pleural space (chest) - this is not the same as fluid in the lungs (see pulm edema) - in cats can be caused by infection in the chest, heart failure, cancer, FIP, feline leukemia, FIV, and in some cases, the cause is never found (idiopathic)

Anisocoria - unequal pupil size (related to any number of causes including brain damage/head trauma)

Sepsis - refers to a bacterial infection in the bloodstream or body tissues. This is a very broad term covering the presence of many types of microscopic disease-causing organisms.

Nephrectomy - kidney removal

Splenectomy - removal of spleen

Pulmonary edema - condition in which fluid accumulates in the lungs, usually because the heart's left ventricle does not pump adequately ( can be caused by heart failure, electrocution, drowning, too many IV fluids, to name a few)

Tick borne diseases - any of a myriad of diseases transmitted by ticks - including but not limited to Rocky Mtn Spotted fever, Lyme disease, Ehrlichia

Fine needle aspirate - A method of sampling in which a needle is used to suck in cells or tissue bits for diagnoses (good for diagnosing masses/lumps)

Blood glucose - The principal sugar produced by the body from food–especially carbohydrates, but also from proteins and fats; glucose is the body's major source of energy, is transported to cells via the circulation and used by cells in the presence of insulin (normal range in a dog/cat is 75-100)

Diseases I see/treat frequently

Dystocia - difficulty birthing. May be responsive to oxytocin administration (Pitocin, as in people) but may require c-section.

DKA - diabetic ketoacidosis: the extreme end of the diabetic scale. A patient that is diabetic can develop DKA when other diseases make the blood glucose hard to regulate. Other diseases that are commonly associated include urinary tract infection, pancreatitis, pyometra, skin infection, and cancer. In DKA, the body starts metabolizing fat and producing acids that cause a drop in blood pH, nausea, weakness, severe dehydration, electrolyte derangments, and death.

DCM - dilated cardiomyopathy: an idiopathic (cause unknown) cardiac disease in which the heart chambers become very thin/dilated, and cardiac output drops radically. Causes arrhythmias, tachycardia, and sudden death. Seen in large breed dogs like Dobermans, Great Danes, etc.

Lymphoma - cancer of the white blood cells, the most common and treatable form of cancer in dogs

Blocked cat - slang term for a male cat with a plug of mucus and crystals obstructing the urethra (fairly common in male cats) definitely a life-threatening because urine can't get out of the body! If present long enough, causes shock, acute renal failure, hyperkalemia (elevated potassium), coma, and death. Symptoms include straining in the litterbox, yowling while trying to urinate, producing small, bloody drops of urine (also symptoms of feline cystitis, a non-lethal condition)

GDV - stands for gastric-dilatation and volvulus - a condition of large breed, deep-chested dogs (usually) in which the stomach rotates 180 degrees on its axis and thus - nothing can enter or leave, considered the "mother of all emergencies" - it warrants immediate surgery and carries a guarded prognosis

IMHA - immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. A disease in which the immune system attacks the red blood cells and destroys them. It causes profound anemia and is life-threatening. Causes are primary (no known cause) and secondary ( tick borne disease, cancer, and heavy metal intoxication). Treatment is immunosuppression with drugs primarily. Prognosis is guarded at best.